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Trump-Biden transition updates: At least 20 arrested, 1 stabbed at DC protests

The event was largely peaceful, but grew violent after crowds thinned at night.

ByLibby Cathey, Meredith Deliso, and Kate Pastor
Last Updated: November 16, 2020, 2:06 PM EST

President-elect Joe Biden is moving forward with transition plans, capping a tumultuous and tension-filled campaign during a historic pandemic against President Donald Trump, who still refuses to concede the election one week after Biden was projected as the winner of the presidential race.

Trump has largely hunkered down inside the White House since the election, but on Saturday his motorcade drove drove past supporters gathered to rally in Washington, D.C., on his way to play golf.

Biden, meanwhile, is pressing forward, meeting with transition advisers in Delaware and calling Trump's refusal to concede "an embarrassment."

The Biden transition team and the Trump administration are in a standoff over whether Biden should be granted access to federal resources allocated for the transition of power. The General Services Administration, headed by a Trump appointee, has yet to officially recognize Biden as the victor in the election, preventing Biden's team from gaining full access to government funds and security information.

But a growing number of Republican senators are calling on the administration to start giving Biden classified intelligence briefings, a sign that support for Trump's refusal to concede the election may be waning among his allies on Capitol Hill.

Top headlines:

Here is how the transition is unfolding. All times Eastern.
Nov 12, 2020, 3:52 PM EST

Democrats lose another House seat with Max Rose concession

Rep. Max Rose, D-N.Y., has conceded his House race in a Staten Island-based district of New York, to Republican challenger Nicole Malliotakis -- bringing House Republicans to a net a gain of seven seats and counting.

Rose said in a statement Thursday afternoon he had called Malliotakis to congratulate her and vowed a "smooth transition."

PHOTO: U.S. Rep. Max Rose, D-N.Y., poses for a portrait outside his office in Staten Island, Oct. 8, 2020, in New York City.
U.S. Rep. Max Rose, D-N.Y., poses for a portrait outside his office in Staten Island, Oct. 8, 2020, in New York City. Rose has conceded in a competitive race, in the city's only conservative-leaning congressional district, to Republican Nicole Malliotakis.
Kathy Willens/AP

Malliotakis, a member of the New York State Assembly, attacked Rose on the campaign trail for his participation in a Black Lives Matter demonstration and accused him of wanting to "defund the police" -- a movement he did not support.

As Democrats continue to fall short of their expected House gains, the GOP win in the competitive district may fuel already rising tensions between centrists and progressives in the Democratic Party.

Nov 12, 2020, 3:02 PM EST

Biden continues transition meetings in Rehoboth Beach

After traveling from Wilmington, Biden has arrived in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where he'll continue meeting with transition advisers, according to the Biden campaign.

The Bidens own a vacation home in the small beach town about 90 miles from their house in Wilmington.

Nov 12, 2020, 1:50 PM EST

Biden speaks with His Holiness Pope Francis

Adding to the list of congratulatory phone calls he's received from world leaders, Biden also spoke Thursday morning with Pope Francis -- the bishop of Rome, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State who grabbed the world's attention last month when he became the first pope to endorse same-sex civil unions.

Pope Francis and Vice President Joe Biden stand on Speakers Balcony at the U.S. Capitol building following the Pope's speech to a joint meeting of Congress on Sept. 24, 2015.
CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images/File

On the call, Biden thanked “His Holiness for extending blessings and congratulations and noted his appreciation for His Holiness' leadership in promoting peace, reconciliation, and the common bonds of humanity around the world," according to a statement from the Biden campaign.

Biden, notably, would be only the second Catholic U.S. president, joining John F. Kennedy.

So far, the Biden campaign has also confirmed the president-elect has had congratulatory calls with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the United Kingdom's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, among others.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

Nov 12, 2020, 1:11 PM EST

Some GOP senators says Biden should receive classified briefings

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa told reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday morning that he believes Biden should get access to classified briefings to prepare for the transition -- though he wouldn't go so far to say the GSA should recognize Biden as the president-elect yet.

"I would think especially on the classified briefings the answer is yes," Grassley said when asked about whether Biden should be receiving briefings. The "9/11 report raised concerns that a shortened transition period contributed to a lack of national security preparedness."

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley listens during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 10, 2020.
Jason Andrew/AP

Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, in an earlier radio interview out of Tulsa, announced he will "step in" if Biden is not receiving security briefings by Friday. 

"There is no loss from him getting the briefings," Lankford said. "If that's not occurring by Friday, I will step in as well to be able to push and to say this needs to occur -- so regardless of the outcome and election, no matter which way it goes, people can be ready to do that."

Both senators, in lockstep with the Republican party, maintain that the president has a right to pursue legal challenges until electors cast their votes in December.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin

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